[The above image was created by the extremely talented Katrin Dirim]

So, I don’t think it’s controversial to state that Yelorna is one of the most potentially interesting deities in Glorantha. She is a complex web of regional names, alternative myths, and (possibly) straight up God-Learner fabrication. The goddess Orogeria seems like a younger, less martial version of her. There is a single line in Fire & Sky that hints that she was the first to hold Polaris’ seat. She hung out with Yelmalio and Yamsur, and is tied to both Hippoi/Arandayla and Father Unicorn. She even seems to be related to Hwarin Dalthippa.

This complexity gives her potential similar to her brother Yelmalio to be a figure with a presence across multiple cultures, each arguing with each other over the Truth. Instead, we get a deity confined to a forgotten corner of the map, left out of all the important stories, and generally just ignored.

My wife and I have greatly expanded on her In Our Glorantha, but this first post is an attempt to expand the paltry five paragraphs given in Fire & Sky to a fuller version more befitting The Starbringer. Later posts will involve Khelnorian/Norian in Southern Peloria and the Grazelands and Elnora in Sartar, as well as some heroquests befitting this alternative mythology.

The Myth of Yelorna (As told in Prax)

When the world was new and unbroken, Yelorna (also called Orogeria in her delicate youth) was the willful daughter of Yelm. She was interested in things the Solar Court deemed “manly,” but was indulged by her father. She was allowed the luxury of hunting, so long as she was always attended on her hunts by Yelm’s trusted lieutenant, Polaris and her brother Vrimak.

Thus, it came to pass that, she mastered the arts of the bow and falconry, and soon found herself to be considered one of the most skillful in the heavens at these arts. So it went until the Great Disrupter came, called Umath, breaking the world and setting the dome of the sky tilting. In her curiosity, she looked down upon the lower world through the gap left by Umath’s violence and saw a world of darkness, and she took pity upon them.

Given her great skill with the bow, she took upon herself the task of guarding the gap, while Polaris and the Star Captain set about their fortifications. When Orlanth slew her father, she swore her revenge, but staid her post, fighting off all who would attack the Breech, her light a dim beacon in the darkening night.

When the Sea invaded the Sky, Dazatar, too, fled, leaving his daughter Ourania to control the heavens. Polaris, similarly, was occupied in his continual fight against the gods of Sea and Air that raged constantly, but Yelorna’s devastating aim held the center. Once the Sky Fortress was complete and the Breech was secure, Yelorna called upon Polaris, her eldest friend and ally, and passed to him its stewardship. [Polaris’ story about guiding the armies of heaven from the center, etc, plugs in here]

So it was that Yelorna finally took her leave of Heaven and journeyed with her bothers Yelmalio and Yamsur. There, in the dark Surface World, she learned more of the ways of battle and heroism, discarding the last trappings of her courtly life. During this time she became a powerful fighter, befriending the wounded Father Unicorn [The Grazelanders know Khelnorian befriended Arandayla in these days, and became her wife], and learning the advantage of mounted combat. She taught these skills to those that would learn them, including her bother Yelmalio, and in return he taught her the use of the spear, the shield, and wearing of armor.

Eventually, however, Yamsur fell to Chaos, and she and Yelmalio were separated during the battle. While wandering in the aftermath, she spotted the telltale sign of Yelmalio’s flame upon a distant hill. As she moved toward it, it began to flicker, before finally going out.

When she finally arrived on the hilltop, she found Yelmalio already defeated, Xentha standing over his body. The Queen of Darkness protested that she, too, had only just arrived, but having learned to distrust the darkness, Yelorna attacked. The two of them battled to a stand still, forcing Yelorna to call to Polaris for aid. Answering her call were all the Star Captains Polaris could spare, and together they finally beat back the Queen of Night.

From there, Yelorna tracked her brother’s attacker south, to the Daytime Woods, where she was ambushed by Zorak Zoran himself. The God of Hatred came at her fast, but he was no match for Yelorna’s full fury. While she was injured in the fray, she pierced Zorak Zoran straight through the forehead, a wound that the Trolls sometimes depict as a third eye, instead.

It was there that Challana Arroy found her and healed her wounds. When Yelara spoke of her desire for vengeance on Orlanth, the White Lady instead showed her that it was Orlanth that freed her. While Yelm yet lived, Yelorna was forever trapped within the confines of the court. It was only the Movement of the Air that allowed her to become the Goddess that she had become. Humbled by this, she instead chose rivalry with Orlanth, and allowed Challan Arroy to heal her heart. [This is where the story branches off into Elnora’s story]

[During this next period, Yelorna and Father Unicorn continue traveling together, helping out the human settlements on the fringes of the world, where only the two of them could easily find them. During her many encounters and adventures, she came to possess her famed Meteor Bow. Most stories claim this to be a gift from Aldrya, although others say it was made by Gustbran.]

Not long after acquiring the Meteor Bow, Yelorna had to face the repercussions of her own brash actions when she became the subject of Argan Argar’s own vengeance for the hurts done to his own mother. The battle was fierce, because Argan Argar was not only strong but shred, and had laid a cunning trap. Yelorna found herself besieged by an armor of trolls and darkness spirits, and soon Father Unicorn fell. Enraged by this, Yelorna poured all of her soul into her attacks, firing arrow after arrow from her bow. The power of these shots was so great that they burst into flames, and the power of darkness was pushed back under her onslaught.

This was not truly a victory, however, and she herself was gravely injured. Using the last of his power, Father Unicorn sacrificed himself to heal her wounds. Alone again, but alive, Yelorna carried on. It is said that she fought in the great battles before the dawn, and, alongside her brother Yelmalio, greeted their father when he returned from the underworld.